Standing Executive Committee Policy 100 (Amicus Brief Policy)

No Amicus brief shall be authorized by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia except as provided by this policy, unless the filing of an Amicus brief is requested or ordered by the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia or any federal appellate court.

The request for an Amicus brief shall be accompanied by 15 copies of the proposed brief, a list of all those individuals and groups within the Bar who support the issuance of the brief, and a list of all those individuals and groups within the Bar who oppose the issuance of the brief.

All parties to the litigation shall be given notice of the request to file an Amicus brief and an opportunity to be heard as to their position on the granting or denying of the request.

The Board of Governors shall specifically determine by a majority vote of members present and voting that the subject matter of the proposed Amicus brief is germane to the legitimate purposes of the State Bar of Georgia.

If the determination in section (c) above is affirmative, then at least two-thirds of the members of the Board of Governors present and voting must vote to approve the filing of the proposed Amicus brief.

The Executive Committee may, by a two-thirds vote of the Committee present and voting, determine that the requested filing of an Amicus brief could not reasonably have been submitted for consideration by the Board of Governors.

If the determination in section (e) above is affirmative, then the Executive Committee must determine by a two-thirds vote of the Committee present and voting that the subject matter of the proposed Amicus brief is germane to the legitimate purposes of the State Bar of Georgia.

If the determination in sections (c) and (f) are in the affirmative the Executive Committee must determine by a two-thirds vote of the Committee present and voting that the proposed Amicus brief should be filed.

In determining whether to file an Amicus brief the Executive Committee should, among other considerations, determine that:

the outcome of the litigation will effect persons other than the litigants, and;

the outcome of the litigation will be of general interest to the members of the State Bar of Georgia.